Citizen Cane
by AndAllThatMishigas
Summary: Following the China trip, Jed is recovering from his MS attack, and Abbey decides to help him along by buying him a present.


Author's Note: I recently came across a super cute picture of Jed and Abbey when he's using his cane and they both look so sweet and happy, and it inspired this idea. Please review :)

 **Citizen Cane**

It had been almost two weeks since they'd returned home from China. Jed had just begun to start walking again. Progress was slow. The physical therapist had given him a cane for when he felt strong enough to use it. He had yet to make it through the whole day without the wheelchair, though he was nearly killing himself trying.

But he hated that cane. The wheelchair made him feel frail and weak, but that ugly silver cane with the gray rubber handle made him feel old. Like he should have been in a nursing home. His grandfather had used a cane like that just before the end.

Abbey watched him struggle to regain his strength, in more ways than one. It broke her heart knowing she couldn't fix it for him. This was one of the nightmares she'd been having over the last ten years. Not only was the MS weakening Jed, the physical weakness had caused him to lose so much of himself. She watched him grip that cane like his life depended on it. Abbey was glad when he didn't need the chair, but his whole countenance just shrank with that cane.

So Abbey decided to do something about it. When he came upstairs—very slowly—to have lunch with her and take a nap, she was waiting with a gift.

"What's this?" Jed asked when he saw it.

She smiled as she swayed back and forth, supported by the dark wood cane she had bought. Its varnished handle and brass fixtures shined in the light as she moved. "Well," she explained, "since you're almost through with the wheelchair, I figured you needed a more permanent cane. Because I gotta say, babe, that one just isn't very fitting for my Jed Bartlet, President of these United States."

Jed, still clutching his current cane in a death grip, looked the new one up and down. His expression was unreadable.

Abbey's smile faltered. "If you don't like it, I can take it back. But I saw it and it seemed fitting for you so…"

He could tell she was getting a little insecure, which he never liked to see. "No, it's great," he said quickly. "Here, let's try it out."

She handed him the new cane and he transferred his weight to it before handing her the old one.

"This is great, honey, thank you!" He smiled at her, and she beamed back at him. He looked good. Really good. His posture had straightened, and everything about him now looked dignified. He looked like himself. Different, but like himself.

He noticed a look in her eyes, a sparkle he hadn't seen in a while. But there was no way it meant what he thought. "What?" he asked after a moment of being stared at.

She chewed on her lips and smirked. "God you look good."

Jed brightened considerably. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah." She sauntered over to where he stood and ran her hands along his arms and under his jacket to the silky material of the vest he had taken to wearing nowadays. "The three-piece suit and the cane go well together. Very dapper and distinguished."

"Oh I'm distinguished now, am I? I thought you were fond of my baby face and my boyish charms?" he teased.

"Mmm," she hummed. "You know, I think after almost forty years, I like you however you are. This distinguished thing you've got going on now though…very sexy." Her hands were still roaming around his chest.

Jed was conflicted all of a sudden. The last time he and Abbey had gotten intimate was before she left for India, before they met up in China. He liked to give her a proper sendoff whenever she traveled without him. But in the three weeks since then, he'd had a debilitating MS attack. They hadn't been able to even contemplate sex since then. And now, she was somehow turned on—and so was he. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and carry her off to bed like he used to do. But right now, it was all he could do to remain standing, needing the cane to keep his balance.

"Abbey," he said with a sad sigh.

She frowned. That was his 'not now' tone. And there was no reason they couldn't fool around now. Usually after he was sick or injured in any way, he was all over her the moment she allowed him to be. She had a very distinct memory of him with the flu a few years earlier, when he claimed he could jump her right then and there, despite the fact that he was dizzy and had just woken up from fainting. But the MS was different. This attack had been different. Even if he looked like himself, maybe he didn't feel like himself just yet. The cold grip of fear squeezed her insides at the realization that maybe he never would.

He noticed the expression on her face change. Her hands froze where they were. She looked afraid. He put his free hand on top of one of hers and gave it a squeeze. "Don't tease me, Abbey."

She furrowed her brow. "I wasn't teasing. It's been three weeks, Jed. I'm pretty ready to go."

That made him smile. Abbey telling him that she wanted him was a pretty sure-fire way to turn him on. "Honey, I can't," he admitted sadly. His eyes were cast downward. He hated that this was the reality. He hated that he couldn't be a proper husband to her anymore. That he couldn't be a proper man.

Abbey had been afraid of this. This was affecting him more than he originally let on. And she should have known better. She kept a tight hold of his right hand with her left and moved the other hand to cup his cheek and force him to look at her. "Jed, talk to me. Is this 'I can't' because you physically aren't able to get aroused yet, or 'I can't' because you don't think you can or should have sex? Because in case you forgot, I am a doctor and I can help out with both of those. Unless you don't want have sex, which is a very different issue altogether."

"No, I want to," he assured her quickly. "And physically, I'm pretty sure everything's working down there. But I can barely stand up straight. And I can't go up a flight of stairs without my knees buckling. I don't think I'm much good to you like this."

"Jed, we're in our sixties. I don't know what kind of athleticism you think we can really handle anymore." She was pleased to see him chuckle a little. "Go lie on the bed," she instructed.

He made his way across the room, aided by his new supposedly sexy cane. For the first time in decades, he had butterflies of nervousness at the prospect of sex with his wife. "Honey, I don't…"

"Don't make excuses and don't try to apologize for anything. I'm in the mood to have sex with my husband, and I know he's a pretty smart guy, and quite talented in this department, so I think he'll figure it out. I'll just have to get a little creative." She then proceeded to slowly remove all her clothes while he watched. That look in his eyes never failed to make her feel like the most desirable woman in the world. It had been a while.

Once she had gotten completely naked, she proceeded to undress him, perhaps a little rougher than he was expecting. But now Abbey was getting pretty eager. And sure enough, by the time his clothes were thrown on the floor beside hers, he was as eager and ready as she was. He pulled her into his arms and took great pleasure in kissing her long and hard. He may have had limited mobility, but he did anything and everything he could. Abbey helped him along. She knew his patterns and desires just as well as he did. She could move and maneuver herself to put his hands and mouth where they would be most effective. And when she climbed on top of him, her strong, shapely legs wrapped around him, he nearly cried out, she was so sexy. He gripped her hips and pulled her to where he wanted her. Jed couldn't quite believe that this was really happening. He and his wife of thirty-seven years were having hot sex in the middle of the day, barely three weeks after a paralyzing and life-threatening MS attack. How many couples could say that? Jed was a lucky man.

"God, I love you," he groaned.

Abbey smiled and kissed him hard, silencing her own scream as her body shuddered on top of his. After another few moments, Jed jerked and groaned, indicating to Abbey that she'd accomplished her mission for the day. She came to rest on top of him, breathing heavily. He rested his hands on her thighs, softly stroking the smooth skin. Abbey took a moment to regain a little strength before climbing off him.

"I am going to be sore for days," she noted, feeling the stiffness in her legs and the slight twinge in her back.

"I hope it was worth it," he replied.

"You tell me, boyfriend," she fired back with a smirk.

He chuckled and kissed her shoulder. "That was incredible. You're incredible."

"You're no slouch yourself." She snuggled against his chest with a smile on her face. "I've missed this. I've missed you."

Jed nodded. "I've missed us."

There was a short silence as they both regained their energy and savored the quiet time in each other's arms. Abbey was the first to roll over. "We should have lunch. You take a quick fifteen minute nap, and I'll bring the food in when it's ready."

"Thank you, Abigail," he said softly.

She paused to look at him as she put her clothes back on. He only used her whole name when he was very angry or when he was being obnoxious. Or sometimes when he was being very serious. She couldn't imagine why this situation would fall into any of those categories. "I'm just going to make you a sandwich, hon."

"No, for everything."

"The cane was something you needed, and we're way past the point of you thanking me for sex, Jethro," she teased.

"Abbey…"

She didn't let him finish. They didn't need to get into all that now. "I know." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "Get some sleep." Abbey put the extra blanket over him before she turned out the light and went out to the kitchen.

Jed took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Yes, he was a very lucky man. With a brand new, dapper, distinguished cane.


End file.
